A Merciful War

"Yet these critics seemed less exercised by the much larger number of
preventable deaths in Afghanistan from routine ailments. I've sat in mud
with parents sobbing as their children died of diarrhea, and trust me: Their grief is every bit as crushing as that of parents who lose children to bombs." Nicholas D. Kristof

After the Vietnam war America became extremely delicate with the use of force against civilians. The media was portraying the American soldiers in a negative light. Yes they were over there killing the Afghan people, and yes during war time civilians are bound to die, but it was never without cause. A lot of people were dieing for even more people to be saved. America try to help Afghanistan so their pregnant mothers and babies wouldn't die over simple complications such as diarrhea. Get vaccinations over there so they could keep up with everyday health. What Kristof is trying to say is that death is death even if the children are dieing from disease or bombs they all count as one lost, so why not protect against the preventable ones.